Meet the Newest New Jersey Devil: Maxim Tsyplakov

On Tuesday, Jan. 27, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Winnipeg Jets for their second matchup of the 2025-26 NHL season. However, the action wasn’t solely on the ice. Ahead of the game, the Devils announced that forward Ondrej Palat was being held out of the lineup for roster-related reasons. In the middle of the first period, the Devils traded Palat to the New York Islanders in exchange for forward Maxim Tsyplakov. The Islanders also received a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a sixth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. 

Let’s take a look at the newest addition to the Devils’ lineup. 

Tsyplakov’s Road to the NHL 

Tsyplakov is a Russian-born hockey player who began his professional hockey career in his home country. He alternated between playing in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and the All-Russian Hockey League (VHL). He played in these two leagues from the 2016-17 season until the 2023-24 season. 

On May 16, 2024, the Islanders signed Tsyplakov as a free agent. He never went through the draft to join the NHL. He played his first season with the Islanders last season in 2024-25. His first game was the Islanders’ home opener on Oct. 10, 2024, and he made a strong impact off the draw; he played a total of 20:46 and took three shots on net, one of which resulted in his first NHL goal. Tsyplakov went on to score nine more goals and recorded 25 assists for a total of 35 points in 77 games.

Following his first season in the league, the Islanders signed Tsyplakov to a two-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $2.25 million. Tsyplakov has played just 27 games this season and has recorded two points via one goal and one assist. Earlier this month, he was assessed a three-game suspension on Jan. 17, following a high hit on Philadelphia Flyers forward Ryan Poehling. This did not help his game attendance this season. He was also a healthy scratch for 23 games. 

Getting scratched that many times feels like a clear indication that the team is either looking to send that player down to the American Hockey League (AHL) or preparing to part with them. In Tsyplakov’s case, it was the latter. 

Tsyplakov’s Potential Impact in New Jersey 

With Palat out of the lineup now, this leaves some room to see where Tsyplakov will slot in. Against the Jets, the lines received a bit of a shake-up, with Evgenii Dadonov jumping from the third line to the first alongside Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer. The second line still saw Nico Hischier at center and Timo Meier at left wing, but now Jesper Bratt played on the right wing here. 

Arseni Gritsyuk, Cody Glass, and Lenni Hameenaho stayed together but jumped up to the third line. Paul Cotter, Luke Glendening, and Connor Brown brought up the final line. With the addition of Tsyplakov, Glendening will likely be a healthy scratch again, and Cotter will go back to center while Tsyplakov takes the winger position. 

The top-six for the Devils is set, while the bottom-six has seen some shifts and movements. They are working out their issues, but now they will need to find space for Tsyplakov to hopefully come in and make a difference.

One might see his lack of performance this season and immediately start raising the red flags. However, a change of scenery might just be what Tsyplakov needs to perform better offensively. Since he’ll be playing in the bottom six, he won’t get the most minutes, but he’ll try to make the most of what he receives. 

Devils Are Back in Action on Thursday

The Devils will host the Nashville Predators on Thursday, Jan. 29. This game could mark Tsyplakov’s first in the black and red Devils jersey. All eyes will be on him if he gets the nod to play.